Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are growing in popularity especially among business travelers. There are a variety of PDAs on the market today that provide a variety of functions. Most PDAs manage personal information and, as such, perform such tasks as: storing contact information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.; writing memos or personal notes; keeping track of appointments; reminding a user of appointments, e.g., by audio alarm; planning projects; keeping track of expenses; and the like. In addition, some PDAs are also able to send and receive email, provide Internet access, play MP3 music files, play MPEG movie files, provide voice recording functionality, and provide other functionality.
A PC can also provide all the above PDA functions, where a PC includes a desktop computer or a laptop computer. However, compared to a PC, a PDA is smaller and lighter. As such, it is typically powered by small batteries, e.g., some models use alkaline (AAA) batteries. A PDA's size also enables it to be used practically anywhere. Compared to a PC, a PDA has a fast boot up sequence enabling it to be used within a couple of seconds after turning its power on. In addition, a PDA typically has simpler user input devices than a PC. For instance, PDA applications typically require activation of only a few buttons and don't require a larger, more detailed input device such as a keyboard.
Compared to a PC however, a PDA has several limitations. First, PDAs can be as expensive as a low end PC. Second, PDAs have relatively limited storage capacity given their size, e.g., PDAs cannot support high capacity storage devices such as a hard disk drive. Third, PDAs have limited input devices. For instance, most PDAs include a stylus and touch screen that lets a user launch programs by tapping on the screen with a pen-like stylus. This limits user input speed and makes it difficult to put long messages into the PDA. Fourth, PDAs have limited expansion capability. For instance, flash media card readers and certain universal serial bus (USB) connections may not be supported.
In other words, the advantages of the PDA are normally the drawbacks of a PC and vice versa. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a PC that overcomes the above deficiencies in the prior art and can provide a PC integrated with PDA functionality that permits a PC to operate in both a PC mode and a PDA mode.